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Severe Winter Weather; Border Crisis, Wartime Visit. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 21, 2022 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

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ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: The solstice marks the official start of winter today, but crippling cold is already barreling across the country. Winter weather alerts for snow and ice are in effect in more than 25 states and could affect more than 90 million people, 90 million. Wind chill alerts extend from the Canadian border all the way to the Gulf Coast. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in the CNN Weather Center and Lucy Kafanov is at a warming center in Denver, Colorado.

Derek, let's start with you, because every state in the lower 48 is expecting below freezing weather at some point this week.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Ana. And I know you're from the Denver Area, and I want you to do me a favor. After we get into the next commercial break, you need to text every single friend, every single family member that you have in Denver and warn them that this is coming. Because National Weather Service using the words life threatening cold and this storm means business.

We're talking about a 60 degree temperature drop coming up in the next 6 hours. This is not a typo. I just talked to a friend of mine in the Boulder Area, which is northwest of the Denver Region. And their dashboard on their car said 49 degrees. That's the forecast high today.

Look at the low temperature that's coming in the next few hours, negative 14 degrees. That's incredible. It won't go above zero degrees for the afternoon tomorrow. So it is imperative that people are warned ahead of the storm, that the Arctic outbreak that is coming is going to be very serious and it could be life threatening as well. Exposed skin, it could lead to frostbite very quickly.

Hey, you know what, radar doesn't look that impressive right now, but the cold front is marching to the south and east. Frigid air and it is about literally to sucker punch Denver and the front range of Colorado as it sweeps east and starts to gain some momentum. Where does it have its eyes set? Well, the Midwest, the Plains, and into the downwind regions of the Great Lakes. You can see the blizzard warnings just outside of Minneapolis into Iowa, Central and Southern Minnesota and the southern portions of Lake Michigan.

That's just east of Chicago. Nonetheless, Chicago O'Hare Airport, you will be majorly impacted by this with winter storm warnings in effect. We have over 90 million Americans under these wind chill alerts and they stretch all the way from the Canadian border all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Something I've actually never seen before.

Forecast radar, timing is out. We'll see those first flakes fly in Chicago midday tomorrow, so about 24 hours from now. Then it ramps up into the overnight period and into Friday. That's the worst of the storm. Any snow that falls on the ground will be picked up by the winds. By the way, that will be gusting over 50 miles per hour at times. It'll reduce visibility and blizzard conditions are certainly on the table.

[13:35:08]

Highest snowfall totals will be, again, downwind of Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie, as well as Superior. But, hey, let's play a little game here. Find the cold front, right? Not that difficult. Don't need to be a meteorologist to see that. Temperatures will drop very quickly behind this system and we're talking about the real field temperature. That is the wind chill temperature. What it feels like in your exposed skin, negative 50. Some places in Wyoming, National Weather Service highlighting negative 70 degree Fahrenheit wind chills that is just downright dangerous.

STEWART: Negative 70 degrees, that is mind blowing. I can't even imagine. Now to Lucy Kafanov at the Denver Coliseum. And, Lucy, Denver is accustomed to snow and ice, we know this, but this storm has officials worried enough to set up an emergency warming center there?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, we have public libraries and recreation centers open as well as places where people can go and get warm. The Denver Coliseum behind me is being converted into a 24-hour warming center for anyone that needs to get out of the cold, whether it's families or unhoused people.

You have to also keep in mind, Ana, that we've had here in Colorado, and especially in Denver, a massive influx of migrants arriving in recent weeks, and so shelter capacity has been strained which is another reason why they're opening this Denver Coliseum. Some of those migrant families will be brought here to get out of the cold.

My colleagues covered the temperatures here in Denver. You can see by how I'm dressed that we're not feeling the cold just yet, but in just a matter of hours, those temperatures are going to drop severely by as much as 30 to 40, to 50 degrees in a matter of an hour. The wind chills are going to be felt. We're already feeling that wind picking up. And so, this is -- I know you've lived here, Ana, I know that you know how quickly the weather can change here, but this is being described as a once in a generation storm. That cold is going to be incredibly dangerous.

CABRERA: Lucy, I hope you have your hat and your gloves ready to go. Stay warm, my friend. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for being there for us, to guide us through this really life threatening situation. Appreciate it, guys. A court battle in Washington and confusion at the border, migrants in limbo as the debate over a pandemic immigration policy plays out. Where things stand this hour, we'll go live to El Paso next.

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[13:41:56]

CABRERA: Limbo at the border. And here's the latest, the Biden administration wants the Supreme Court to allow a policy restricting migrants from entering the US to end, but not for at least another week. Title 42, originally, put in place because of COVID concerns, was set to end today but Chief Justice John Roberts hit pause.

Thousands of migrants and border town officials are left asking, what now? CNN's Ed Lavandera is in El Paso where the mayor has already declared a state of emergency as food banks and shelters struggle to keep up with demand. Ed, what's happening there today?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, everything as you mentioned, kind of sits in limbo as we wait for the US Supreme Court to decide what to do with the fate of Title 42. And just to explain again what that is, this public health policy that was started under the Trump administration and essentially has been used to be able to quickly expel about 2.5 million migrants from the United States because of the COVID pandemic.

So all of this kind of playing out, continuing to play out whereas where city and local officials say they're using the time to really prepare for the anticipated end of Title 42. The Biden administration has been predicting that anywhere from 9,000 to 14,000 migrants per day could be crossing the US southern border from South Texas to California.

Here in El Paso, the city in the area has been dealing with its own surge ahead of the possible end of Title 42. And what we're being told now is that the number of migrants crossing has declined significantly. It was about 2500 per day. We're told that now, according to DHS figures, that it's about 1,500 per day.

And just moments ago, you can see the border wall behind me was able to walk out there and see the area where migrants are still lining up to enter the United States and turn themselves into border patrol agents. There are several hundred people out there still lined up this morning as well. And this was kind of playing out not too far from where the Texas governor had dispatched Texas National Guard soldiers to set up a long fence of razor wire. The migrants simply just moved to another area to turn themselves into border officials.

But the mayor here in El Paso says that all of this needs to be solved, that the way things are being dealt with right now and handling the surge is not sustainable.

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OSCAR LEESER (D), EL PASO, TEXAS MAYOR: I want to talk to the DPS. I want to talk to find out why they feel they need to have it in for any length of time. It's very important that we continue to work together but also this is not sustainable. They give us the resources, continue to give us the resources, but this is not long term sustainable.

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LAVANDERA: And what the mayor was referring to there at the beginning is wanting to talk to the governor's office is that this long fence of razor wire has really frustrated some here locally. That fence, according to everyone we've talked to, was put up without really the knowledge of anyone here locally. It was the National Guard acting alone, so a lot of frustration that resources are being used in that way at this very critical time. So the mayor expressing some light frustration there.

[13:45:06]

The county judge described the efforts by the National Guard and the governor's decision to put up that fence as a political stunt. Ana?

CABRERA: Just a quick question for clarity. When you talk about people lining up, ready to turn themselves in to border officials, are they lining up in a place where they would be turning themselves in through the traditional ports of entry? Or are they just trying to surrender themselves anywhere along the border still?

LAVANDERA: Right. Let's be clear, because of Title 42 you are not able to come through a traditional port of entry and request asylum that has essentially been shut down. That is why you're seeing so many migrants between the ports of entry. The area that we're talking about was just underneath one of the bridges crossing connecting Juarez to El Paso.

This is technically still an illegal entry, but the migrants are literally lining up at the door of one of the border wall there, waiting to turn themselves into border patrol agents. And they take small groups at a time and begin the processing. So that does not mean that these people get to stay. The Department of Homeland Security says here in the El Paso Area alone, over the course of the last week, about 3,400 migrants were quickly expelled under that Title 42 rule.

CABRERA: OK. Ed Lavandera, that's why, again, there's so much concern about what happens when Title 42 is lifted. I appreciate your reporting from El Paso, Ed. We'll check back.

Moments from now, President Biden face to face with the man who has drawn comparisons to Winston Churchill. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving at the White House as the administration gears up to announce a new security package. Up next, we get a view from Capitol Hill where Zelenskyy will also be addressing lawmakers today.

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[13:51:35]

CABRERA: At any moment, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is expected to arrive at the White House. We have a live look.

Moments ago in a Telegram post, he said he's in Washington to thank the American people for their much needed support. Later tonight, the Ukrainian president will address a joint meeting of Congress as he seeks additional aid for his country. Let's get to Capitol Hill now where Manu Raju is there.

Manu, a lot of lawmakers were planning on getting out of town, trying to beat this big storm we've been talking about. Are they changing their plans? Will the seats be filled tonight for Zelenskyy's primetime speech?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like the seats will be filled, and it's not necessarily because they were not planning on getting out of town. It's simply because the Senate has not essentially gotten a deal to get to a final vote on the spending bill to keep the government open. They were hoping to get to that final vote and get out of town and avoid this monster storm that is coming. But instead, they're going to be stuck here waiting for those votes to happen. So as a result, those seats eventually will be filled.

Now, this comes at a critical moment where Republicans in particular are divided over how to spend more money and whether to spend more money for Ukraine. Senators like Lindsey Graham say that is essential here, and others are pushing back.

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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): And the chaos that could come from the House next year, I hope doesn't materialize but I've locked in. I think a spending plan for the military at the most critical time.

RAJU: There's a faction among your party that there should not be this bigger for money to Ukraine. They say this is a waste of resources.

GRAHAM: I think they're distinct minority there's no domestic problem gets better with Russia winning in Ukraine.

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): Because we're barring all the money. I mean, it's not like we've got $45 billion to send Ukraine.

RAJU: But if you don't giving them the aid, aren't you aiding Russia?

TUBERVILLE: Well, I mean, I'm forgiving aid but not all at one time. I mean, what are you going to do with $45 billion at once?

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RAJU: Well, the $45 billion will be rolled into a larger spending package that will take some time to spend, but we do expect that larger bill to keep the government open, which would include that Ukraine aid to pass. Maybe not today, but probably tomorrow, if not Thursday, that was the day after.

CABRERA: OK. Manu Raju, thank you. Stay with CNN as we cover this major meeting at the White House in just a few minutes. The news continues after a quick break.

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Wednesday to you. I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. There is a lot happening. Let's start what's happening right now.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on his way to the White House. This is his first trip out of Ukraine since Russia began its invasion in February. Now, as he arrived in the US, Zelenskyy posted that he was in Washington to thank the American people for their much needed support. He accepted an invitation from President Biden just a week ago. And since then, the US has worked with Ukraine on some really tight security arrangements for this short trip.

The visit will last just a few hours, and after the White House meeting, Zelenskyy will then address a joint meeting of Congress. Joining us now is CNN's chief White House correspondent Phil Mattingly and senior international correspondent Will Ripley, who is in Kyiv. Phil, let's start with you.

The administration just announced a new $1.8 billion aid package for Ukraine. Tell us about the timing of the trip and what they'll discuss today.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Victor, in just a matter of moments, you're going to see a car pull up right behind me. President Biden step out of the White House to greet President Zelenskyy, his first trip out of Ukraine in the 300 days of war since Russia launched its invasion at the end of February. I think what you're looking at here is two very poignant issues. The first being the symbolic, obviously, the first visit out of the country to the -- by far and away, most dedicated ally of Ukraine over the course of that war.